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Not saying he IS ready, but to be honest ... he's equipped to be more ready that most in his position. The combination of a player who has played this style of football before PLUS experienced pro football camps previously as a CFL rookie PLUS comes in with the physical ability to make all of the throws is a rare one. I know we're all thinking he's going to struggle because he's a USports prospect but that may actually work to his benefit in this instance. If you ask me, the comparison here is very Carson Wentz-ish. Big athletic body type, can make every throw on the field, has played the "style" of football before but the question marks are basically level of competition at this point.

No one is throwing Elgersma to the wolves though. Zach is the undisputed starter. We're talking about who is the SY yardage guy and who is the most capable of coming in incase of injury. Against a bunch of other rookies and Terry Wilson, Elgersma has a decent shot of finishing ahead of the pack.

While unfortunate that JSK went out with an injury, I really hope to see Shay and Smith get reps at LB throughout the season.

He has about the same arm strength as Cody Fajardo. What's going to surprise a lot of people is that he runs like a running back.

Means nothing....but still nice to watch the RIders look like ass.

I remember when the Bombers traded away Don Jonas to Hamilton & threw rookie Dieter Brock to the wolves thinking he was ready to start in a game against the Eskimos at Clarke Stadium in September of 1974. Brock got the **** beat out of him that game. Completing barely a third of his passes & serving up I believe 4 picks as well as being sacked over & over all game long. It really showed that Brock wasn't ready for prime time. He sat behind Chuck Ealey for a year until HC Bud Riley determined that Brock had surpassed ealey on the roster & was ready to play in 1975. The Bombers traded Ealey to the Argos in 1975 & made Brock the starter. For the next nine seasons, we had a qb who could set the air on fire throwing zingers to his receivers all over the field. The kid was ready & he became one of the CFL's greats but it took a year. What a difference that year made in this case.

Yeah he has the what you want body type....has as legit an arm as we seen up here in a while, can make all the throws, and even though his highest level of competition really is CIS....He knows the Canadian game and won't be fooled by what he see's like a rook American He like other's said...should be eased in...not expected to light the world on fire right outta the shoot, and he has to show/prove he can parlay his Canadian experience, and his skill set at the speed and complexity of the pro level...That's the only real issue, and if he is able to, and or we allow him time and rope to learn and develop and not just thrown to the wolves and ruin him...He should be just fine...He just has to become and prove he is pro level in the head...he has the rest already Wilson has the pocket poise...but just seems like something is holding him back...Mental...ability to process/read....who knows but if he doesnt have monumental success and light shiat up this pre-season he is as good as gone...as Perkins actually looks like he and his pro experince has enabled him to grasp the Canadian game pretty well, and if he shows any upside and success...and ability to make things happen be it in scheme or off schedule....I cant see the roster not being Zach..Perkins and Elgs

Throwing a nice ball in practice is not remotely the same as doing it in a game. Declaring Elgersma ready to play well is highly optimistic. He's a legit prospect for sure, but only rarely does a rookie QB not play like a rookie QB.

Yeah I agree. I mean JSK is a decent player and had a good year with Ottawa last year but I really wanted to get away from the 30 plus year old vet strategy, especially in a position I would argue we have a lot of pieces in place for some guys to take the next step and it’s unfortunate that injuries are part of the game but I want to see more from the kids.

Gross.

I dont know about that. Collaros was as durable as dollar store toilet paper last season, and i dont see him getting better with age. I think its highly likely Elgersma sees game action this season.

Totally agree, I have no doubt that Elgersma has the toolbox for success, but the game speed, rhythm, complexity of defences, and just the over all ability of the competition takes time to adjust to and learn. Almost every QB in this league has gone through an NFL camp, he is no more used to this level of competition than any other QB that comes to camp. His 3 down experience will help somewhat, but defences are far more complex and harder to read than in USports. There is less decision time and far less margin for error, all of this will take time. I am excited to watch him play though. I would be very disappointed if Wilson was back. I just don't feel he will ever be better than a 3rd stringer in this league. Hope I am wrong about all of this and Elgersma is a rookie sensation, and that the light bulb goes off in Wilson's head....but history favors my viewpoint right now. Pitch and catch in practice is not the same as a game. These tight window passes look great like you say but when a DT moves you a foot off your mark and you have to throw through whatever passing lane the fatboys can provide it is an entirely different matter. Rourke, for instance, threw a great ball in his couple of rookie appearances but was also an interception machine. Takes time.

He was sitting out of practice yesterday. I wonder if this is some kind of roster trickery.

Peyton Thorne added to the suspended list - more playtime for the other guys!

Dare to dream. I expect his 2nd TC/pre-season to be extremely high level, that's for sure. In skelly hes throw some extremely tight window passes, which look great in Skelly. But when the contact is full and the timing just a bit more advanced, a great looking pass play in skelly, can often turn into a pick in game. And at that regular season is a notch higher than pre season, even with 1s vs 1s. He will have a big advantage when/if he takes that next step, though. The, "defences don't have enough film/experience against him" window will be larger than normal because of his experience with the Canadian game. I just hope he gets in before the end of the 4th playing with and against TCF.

Interesting story. Arland Bruce III https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/arbitrator-awards-former-cfl-player-bruce-25000-in-damages/

USports is getting more and more complex but you can only scheme to your overall talent level. In the CFL there is just so much more you can do because of the level of athletes on the squad. CFL is infinitely better at disguising their defensive schemes as well. Reading the defence is very different in the pros. The different looks that defences give pre-snap are going to be confusing to any rookie QB at first. You prepare, you study film, but week to week in our league we see progressions to counter film work. QBs in this league take some time to really get it. Some can come in and give you usable contributions but anyone thinking that Elgersma will give us a better chance to win than Collaros this season are probably going to be disappointed. Realistically, about the best case scenario for Elgersma this year is that he sees a little bit of game action and gives our GM and coaches enough reason to consider him for starting next season. That would be the Nathan Rourke/Davis Alexander route, and that would be about the very most we should hope for. However, if TE comes out proves to be a generational talent that becomes probably the first year one starter in the past 15 years, I will gladly accept that as a fortuitous turn of fate and gladly eat crow.

He should start practicing this position a lot then if he wants to be a Cody clone...

Ok...so Perkins to the PR?

yup...he needs to show that the leap from college to pro speed isnt too much for him, and that with time and reps when he can get em that he will adjust...or can...From all accounts seems no reason he shouldn't..and yup...skelly where DB's arent actually going through guys, and pressure and chaos along the l.o.s scrimmage is real and you may have to adjust your platform, or move your launch point...totally different circumstance....be interesting to see this weekend tho...and if he has ability to use legs if nothing is there...or pocket collapses....and he isnt panicked from the slightest pressure or first read isnt there...Perkins we know can go off script and run....can Elgersma as well

Bruce deserved more. That's an insult. But it's the best he's going to get.

He has, and he's had a bit of work at a high level of competition. But I don't expect him to do any thing in game this year.

One advantage for Elg (yes I am trying to make that a thing) as a rook is that he's played the Canadian game so he is used to accounting for 12 guys on D, something that always confuses US QB's when they come up here.

Elgersmas arm talent is legit. I think the biggest concerns with him short term are, how much he forces the ball and how he adjusts to the D. He’s pretty damn close to a lock to be with the club this year. I could see him on the ar off the bat too. I like Wilson’s poise. Hes thrown with authority a few times and has good arm talent. But i haven’t seen progress at all. I could see the same thing happening tbh. If wilson doesn’t show good progress, it’s time to move on. Thorne is a solid prospect but i think he needs a year of seasoning. Perkins has given me some optimism for his pick up of the canadian game, which is what’s needed. The deviation in camp isn’t to the point where id cut any one right now, and i wouldn’t be married to any qb2.

The way I see it. Zach and Elgersma are locks. I’m not sure why ppl Find it hard to believe Elgersma throws a better ball than the other guys but he does, limited yes but he looks like the guy most ready to take over if Zach got hurt. Zach looks like his arm is a bit shot, he really is throwing his whole body into the long throws, it’s gonna lead to some bad picks and some Zach getting wooped moments I’m sure so backups better be ready. Terry to me has shown nothing to very little in his time here, the reality is he should look head and shoulders better than all of Perkins Elgersma and Thorne because he’s the only one with any cfl experience but limited viewing, he can’t throw a ball 15 yards. Really struggled with 2 maybe 4 throws i saw him make. Elgersma was hitting dudes in stride, Zach was, well they were open but the ball took a while to get there once or twice, believe 22 made a nice pick on 1 but if ball was on a rope, it’s a TD. I guess, guys get open but have to wait for the ball with Zach, it takes a minute to get there, Elgersma was hitting dudes in stride 35 40 yards down field, Zach was kinda all over the place accuracy wise. Perkins looked like the best of himself Thorne and Wilson. Could see a world where Terry is cut and Thorne is PR’d. Zach Perkins Elgersma. Perkins the short yardage guy tho. But again that’s 30 minutes prob more but less than an hour for sure of viewing lol.

I think it will be interesting this year with Condell in the mix when it comes to pre season QB deployment. I think he will have more of the reigns to decide that himself. Perhaps we see less of Zach in preseason because of it.

I think the pre-season for QB is gonna be basically Wilson or Perkins decision as to who on roster....ZC is a given, and you would think Elgersma is gonna be as well as QB3 to start season after all they hype about him. If Wilson is beat out by Perkins, then I see him gone and Thorne PR'd, but if he steps up and shows he can be the backup then i see Perkins PR'd if he accepts it....or we 1 game him for a bit and Thorne sent packing. I kinda like what Perkins brings and wanna see him in game action, and if he shows promise then I'd rather he get the spot as I think his skill set would really translate well up here. I expect to see ZC...Perkins...Elgersma as the 3 on roster. How and who we use as actual QB2 will be interesting and who takes over the short yardage role as well.

And the GM... Who loves his bison content.

While JY has some very interesting and difficult decisions to make, Condell will have an even tougher situation with pre-season. Balancing QB play time is going to be a real challenge. On one hand, Zach has a new system and a few new starters, he/they will likely need a chunk of time to gel. On the other hand, the backup QB position is clear as mud. We don't have a seasoned backup QB2, and we have 3 rookies behind that. For Zach, I would normally say 3 quarters in pre-season would be the upper limit of what you want to see. But we might want to roll a full game's worth of reps at the starters between the two games, plus a few drives on top of that. Starting the 2nd quarter is a great reset and chance to adjust calls/personnel. Terry needs a chance to play himself into earning QB2 or out of the spot, which is hard to do with less than a half of football between the 2 games. Perkins, while a rookie, is older than Terry. So he also really needs to be thrown into the fire. Can't imagine anyone wants to wait 2 years to see if he can develop. Which doesn't leave much for Elgersma, who also needs to be challenged. And even less for Thorne. Roughly, I'd look to have Zach ease out at some point in the 2nd Q to reconvene with Condell before going back in to finish and run the start of the 3rd. That gives Terry and the best of the rest time to roll with 1s and 2s against 1s and 2s. Once Terry gets his chance, I'd let them fight for reps. Those reps are limited and very valuable. Its no where near enough to get everyone enough reps. Not even enough for 3 to get enough reps. 5 QBs are to reduce load and diversify how many guys get a shot. 2 QBs aren't likely to make the PR at all, it's harsh, but whoever is on the bottom of the depth chart (I suspect Thorne) is likely to only get a real shot if someone else is brutal or gets hurt. I'm really interested to see how the battle goes between Elgersma and Perkins. And if Terry has progressed. If he does, that 2 spot is as good as his. But if Elgersma shows more of what he did in the NFL preseason, or if Perkins translates his game to the Canadian game quickly, it's going to be a real scrap. Been a long time since we had this much variability on the QB depth chart. I can't imagine we cut Elgersma and don't PR him. But just about anything else is equally as likely.

As if we needed another reason to make fun of Saskatchewan, this video is making the rounds on social media.

we'd be a better...younger...more athletic defense with them along with Griffin at SAM than with Wilson and T.Jones Maybe we are gonna go with the upside and more talented and part ways with one of Jones and Wilson with the guy staying being a DA and the backup if injury happens...A smart team wanting to filed it's best roster and have guys really develop along the way would do that...as opposed to riding old declining guys into dust as they degrade along the way...wasting the talent you have in waiting yup...Wilson would be the perfect DA/mentor/rotational guy and starter if need be, while the youth continue their development. He offers a lot still, but man you gotta be proactive in the transitions and player development so you arent relying on green unproven guys when the old guard finally break right down...we seen how that plays out already...did we learn? Funny thing tho...Jones is a good player...not great, and when you stack em all up prob ranks behind Wilson..Ayers..Woodbey...Griffin in terms ability and versatility...with Smith and Shay right on hisass Being a holdover/vet shouldn't be an automatic pass to be the starter

I like the extra games...sure the meat of the season may seem redundant...but also can consider it a kinda season long round robin type thing to seed all the teams. The absolute worst team really has no business being in the post season picture, and some of the lesser's a lot of times just run out of time, and were constantly improving...a lot of time due to new coaching and systems/players taking a while to gel...so now they get that extra little time. I can see it making for quite a few more meaningful games as some the lower ranked teams will be jockeying for seeding now...whereas before at times, especially in the east the top 2 teams had their spot secured by labor day, and the bottom 2 were totally just playing out the string....not now